Robert Mugabe 'No Longer Able To Walk' Because of Rapidly Declining Health, Says President

Robert Mugabe, the former president of Zimbabwe, is being weighed down by rapidly declining health as the president of the country said that he is no longer able to walk. 

President Mnangagwa said that Robert Mugabe is now unable to walk because of ill health and that for the past two months, he has been in Singapore for an undisclosed illness. Robert Mugabe had a second haven in Singapore during the tenure of his lengthy presidency where he regularly sought treatment for usually undisclosed illnesses. 

"He can no longer walk but we will continue to take care of him," Mr Mnangagwa said. Mr Mnangagwa said Mr Mugabe was supposed to return to Zimbabwe on October 15 but was not feeling well. He did not intimate on further details about Mugabe's ailment. The ex-president is now expected to be back in the country on November 30. 

Robert Mugabe was Zimbabwe's leader since the country got independence in 1980. He ruled the country with an iron fist, presiding over poor human rights and a dead economy. His first years in power were impressive, but his misrule destroyed the country, which once had a promising economy.

He was ousted from power in November 2017 through a military coup which saw the current president Emmerson Mnangagwa being made president of Zimbabwe. Despite being unable to walk, Mr Mnangagwa said the former leader was feeling better and would be back in the country next week. "We are looking after him. He is the founding father of the nation of Zimbabwe. He is our founding father of free Zimbabwe," the president said, as per AFP reports. 

Mugabe's ostensibly high medical fees are catered for by the government. President Mnangagwa has been heaping praises on the former president and despite their fallout they seem to be making attempts at reconciliation. 

Header image credit: Standard UK